One thing to really watch out for with the HF unit: overheating! At
the school where I teach we have one of these saws, and we were using
it to cut off some aluminum from a block approx 2" x 2" square solid
bar.

I guess we had the pulley ratio too high, because after a while the
blade got stuck and stopped moving. Of course this was when we all
went out to lunch, and when we got back the motor had overheated and
seized (permanently).

HF did replace the motor, but the machine was down for weeks while we
waited for it. A simple thermistor or other thermal cutoff would have
saved the day...

Neil